The Hunt for Larry Brady...

Bullring needs your help in desperate chase for copyright:

Bullring Music is keen to include a bonus track on their greatly anticipated CD; a track which will be the only non-original song to feature - and it is a beauty. Yes you have guessed it, that classic folk song, the famous, the unforgettable Have You Ever Been Up to Queensland? Just in case you have forgotten it, here are the first few lines to jog your memory:

Have you ever been up to Queensland/There is a place that you all know/A place called old Barcaldine/On the banks of the Alice O/Up there I met a pretty girl/her eyes were big and blue...etc etc

However in the first instance we must secure copyright or at the very least, the owner's permission to record this classic track.

The author is, of course, Mr Larry Brady* who is thought to have penned the lyrics and music while fleecing the boys at Euchre during a Sunday morning session at the Commercial Hotel circa late sixties.

With the exception of some fellow card players, people will have fond memories of Larry, who was a regular at the Commercial for many years. Larry is a stocky fellow, who looks a bit like the late actor Leo McKern and was easily identified by the fact he had a bad leg which he used to prop up on a stool at the bar. (Click on link for photo.)

Regretabbly for Bullring, in later years Larry shied away from the fame of his hit song, and became reclusive.

F and W Search focuses on 2 regions:

The F and W Search Expedition, commissioned by Bullring Music, went close to finding Larry in 2004 and now feel confident that Larry is somewhere in either the South -West Region, or the Western Downs. There is little doubt that Larry has left the Central West.

Armed with video equipment, the F and W search team interviewed many locals in the Mitchell and Augathella (Bullant country) districts. However those who clearly knew of Larry's whereabouts were not speaking - and definately not on camera.

When The Fruiterer informed the search team that he had seen Larry recently, they were about to pop the champagne. However further discussion found that The Fuiterer's version of the term "recent" related to 20 years earlier.

So Bullring needs your help now: Please use the comments facility on this post if you have any clues of Larry's whereabouts.

Huge INCENTIVE:

If you are the first person to povide information leading Bullring to find Larry, and on the condition that Larry gives permission for the use of his hit song Have you ever been up to Queensland, you will recieve a Bullring Music package FREE!!


* In response to the FAQs: No. There is no evidence of Larry being related to Mr Phillip Brady, the game show host and television personality of the 70s. Similarly, no evidence of him being related to the former Headmaster, Mr John Brady.

Secrets revealed on new genre: Western Marlafonte

The track on the forthcoming Bullring CD Oh! Tambo, as referred to in previous posts, is the vehicle Bullring is using to officially launch their already famous new genre, Western Marlafonte, to the music world.

But just how did it come about?

Bullring now reports that the key factor in organizing the music was the title, which by its very name, screamed out for that calypso touch. However no sound existed that could truly capture the ambience or the experience of the central western town we all know and love as Tambo. Then, in the course of a long session by Bullring musos it just happened. It was a fluke. It came about during a session when one Bullring muso was experimenting with a country version of the glorious sounds of Harry Belafonte - Gydyea Tree, Very Smelly - while a Bullring artiste was mixing some Reggae sounds reminiscent of the great late Bob Marley.

As one Bullring executive commented: "At that moment we all knew we had created something special. It was far greater than the sum of its parts - country, Marley, Belafonte - yes, serendipitously it all came together to create the magic that is Western Marlafonte."

However some big questions are being asked of Oh! Tambo. Is this a simple road song, a trip home for Christmas, or was it a metaphysical journey for Bullring? Was Barcy a town too far? Whilst this extract from the lyrics is suggestive, it is hardly conclusive:

We drive down main street no life do we find/and a “Hot Chooks” sign only plays with our mind/Will we make Barcy who gives a damn–bo?/Stranded, dry and hungry in Tambo/Oh! Tambo Oh! Tambo/

And this tantalizing snippet released by Bullring from the story of Oh! Tambo in the book to the CD does not give much away:

He pressed his eye up to the crack in the door and thought he was hallucinating from the heat. There before his eyes, in air conditioned comfort, were ....., decked out in Christmas party hats, sucking on cold stubbies, chewing on legs of turkey with Christmas presents in front of them. ... knocked on the door. We heard the knock (over the noise from the jukebox), but didn’t move or say anything. We didn’t want any intruders....

No, unfortunately we have to wait for the CD and book release before we know the full story behind this remarkable track, which, like all the tracks, is based on the real life experiences of Bullring members.

We know you can't wait to hear this one. But hang in there - not long NOW!

The famous Radio Theatre

Many stories are contained between the canvas seats and oak arches of the famous Radio Theatre, Barcaldine and Bullring Music will be bringing some of those stories back to life in the song The Radio Theatre on their eagerly awaited CD. Particular reference in the lyrics is made to an erotic Italian scorcher titled World by Night, (Mondo di Notte - see Radio Theatre Links - adults only please) which was screened at the Radio in the early 60's, much to the delight of the town's youth and Mrs Wilkie. (It wasn't till the end of that decade that the Barcy youth were again treated to such worldy cinema, when the Radio screened a young newd Helen Mirrin - co-starring with James Mason - in Age of Consent.) See Radio Theatre Links.

Tagged as a "shockumentary", World by Night provided a great deal of conversation among the lads in the alcoves at the Astoria Cafe. Without giving too much away, the lyrics are tinged with pathos, as a particular youth is foiled in all his attempts to see the picture.

Radio theatre then... ....and now

The waiting's almost over...

CD release planned for Winter 07

Barcaldine Post Office will have a busy time delivering the CDs

Bullring Music thanks everyone for the great patience shown in the lead up to the release of its forthcoming compact disc, book and associated merchandise. Already branded as the most anticipated CD launch in 2007, it is sure to be another success story for Bullring, who's last foray into popular music culture was the unforgettable Live from the Loungeroom.* The as yet untitled CD promises to be chock full of hits, or as one Bullring executive described it - "all killers**; no fillers".

However Bullring makes no apology for the time the CD is taking to produce, which is consistent with their renowned commitment to quality, regardless of timeframes. The eclectic range of genres on the CD, combined with Bullring Music's demand for high quality lyrics, melodies, sound mixing, composition and musical instrumentation, has required the building of a customized recording studio.

Bullring Music is pleased to announce that this studio, located in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, is nearing completion.

New Genre

The new CD will also herald a whole new musical genre, capturing the diversity of the melodies of the Caribbean entwined with the raw noises of the outback, to produce the sublime sound known as Western Marlafonte. This new genre is exposed for the first time in the haunting, tragic, mournful yet ultimately uplifting road song Oh! Tambo.

Fans will also not be disapointed with the number of tracks dedicated to Bullring's world famous musical genre, Gidyea Rock.

Merchandise

Bullring recognizes that these days people don't want to just buy a CD but they want the whole experience. So along with the CD will come a book with humorous stories about the tracks, with of course a chapter on the making of the CD. But there will be more, so watch this space..

...and don't forget to check the Bullring Music blog regularly.

In fact, bookmark Bullring Blog NOW!!!

*Some inferior quality pirated tapes were sold under the name Live from the Loungroom. Remember to report pirated copies immediately to law enforcement agencies.

**In this context the term "killer" does not refer in any way to the old sheep given to the ringer after cutting out a shearing shed.